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CF's Ryan happy to stick around after national title

In this file photo, Central Florida's men's head basketball coach Tim Ryan works with Manny Dias (23) and Alhaji Fullah (20) during practice at the College of Central Florida in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010.

Fun fact: Among the many tweets Ryan received after winning the national title late last month was one from rap icon Pitbull. "I didn't know who he was," Ryan laughed.

Ryan, who brought home the school's first basketball national championship last week, now has just about everything on his resume that a coach could possibly want. He's averaged more than 23 wins per season with a .712 winning percentage; he has six conference championships, six coach of the year awards and two state runner-up finishes to go along with the state and national titles he just won.

All of that success begs the question: what more could Ryan possibly do at CF?

It's a question Ryan has heard often since emerging out of a bus from Kansas with a national championship trophy in his arms just 10 days ago. Since then, just about everyone Ryan runs into around Ocala thinks they can see the writing on the wall for a coach who has done it all at CF.

So naturally, they all want to know if he'll still be around next season.

A reporter asked him that very question in his office at the CF gymnasium late last week, causing Ryan to smile and glance at his watch.

"It's not even 12 o'clock and you're the fourth person today to ask me that question," Ryan said. "There are more things we can do here. Would I leave? It would have to take the right situation."

At age 53, Ryan finds himself in the warm glow of a spotlight that is only shined on recent champions. A lifelong gym rat who has found success everywhere he's coached, Ryan seems to be in the perfect spot for a promotion from the junior college level to a four-year school — and the associated perks that would almost certainly include a significantly higher salary.

He's just not sure he wants that right now.

"People actually argue with me about this," Ryan said. "When I tell them it's not likely that I'm going to leave, they argue with me about it. If the right situation came around I would certainly entertain it, but I don't think there's a lot of right situations out there for me.

"I really like it here."

Ryan and wife, JoAnne, have four children and the youngest, Tommy, is still in high school. Ryan spent his first six years at CF commuting back and forth from Clearwater, where his older children attended high school. Now settled in Ocala, he said he's not looking forward to being uprooted again.

"This is my home," Ryan said. "I have some roots here and I have a lot of really good friends here now. My son goes to school here and has some big things happening for him. He's going to be a senior in high school. If something were to happen where I couldn't turn it down, I'd probably have to go solo. I'm not looking forward to that. I did that for six years, the commuting back and forth. That was not a fun thing to do. Being away from family wasn't fun. It's not impossible that something could happen, but I really don't see it."

So even though Ryan could leave and get a free pass for it — and probably a healthy raise, too — his heart may still be in Ocala. And, for the record, he still thinks there's plenty more he can accomplish with the Patriots.

"We're only the third team from Florida to win a national championship," Ryan said. "It's only happened three times and nobody has repeated. That would be something to do. I don't know if we can do it, but that would be something."

It would also be something, Ryan said, if he and CF could host the state tournament, which has been held in Marianna since 1996.

"If we can bring it in here and have a chance to win it here," Ryan said. "Man, that would be just awesome for the community."

Though Ryan takes great pride in the national championship, there's other things on his plate he's equally proud of. In fact, he said it was actually the state championship that truly wowed him — simply because he had been there so many times before and never won it.

"Here's the truth," he said, "whatever you work hardest for, you cherish most. I've been to the state tournament 11 times. This year, my 11th year, I finally won it, and that was an incredible feeling. When I went to nationals, it was my first time and we won it. It was an incredible feeling too, but winning the state, in the moment, was more incredible to me than the nationals."

Both titles earned Ryan plenty of congratulations around Ocala, but it's another things people tell him that feels even more rewarding than the trophies he won.

"You know what I like to hear people say?," he said. " ‘He does things the right way.' I get so many of those messages right now — that it's so good to see someone succeed who does it the right way. That's the thing that I'm the most proud of."

<p>Tim Ryan has quietly put together a list of accomplishments at the College of Central Florida that almost any basketball coach would be envious of.</p><p>Ryan, who brought home the school's first basketball national championship last week, now has just about everything on his resume that a coach could possibly want. He's averaged more than 23 wins per season with a .712 winning percentage; he has six conference championships, six coach of the year awards and two state runner-up finishes to go along with the state and national titles he just won.</p><p>All of that success begs the question: what more could Ryan possibly do at CF?</p><p>It's a question Ryan has heard often since emerging out of a bus from Kansas with a national championship trophy in his arms just 10 days ago. Since then, just about everyone Ryan runs into around Ocala thinks they can see the writing on the wall for a coach who has done it all at CF.</p><p>So naturally, they all want to know if he'll still be around next season.</p><p>A reporter asked him that very question in his office at the CF gymnasium late last week, causing Ryan to smile and glance at his watch.</p><p>"It's not even 12 o'clock and you're the fourth person today to ask me that question," Ryan said. "There are more things we can do here. Would I leave? It would have to take the right situation."</p><p>At age 53, Ryan finds himself in the warm glow of a spotlight that is only shined on recent champions. A lifelong gym rat who has found success everywhere he's coached, Ryan seems to be in the perfect spot for a promotion from the junior college level to a four-year school — and the associated perks that would almost certainly include a significantly higher salary.</p><p>He's just not sure he wants that right now.</p><p>"People actually argue with me about this," Ryan said. "When I tell them it's not likely that I'm going to leave, they argue with me about it. If the right situation came around I would certainly entertain it, but I don't think there's a lot of right situations out there for me.</p><p>"I really like it here."</p><p>Ryan and wife, JoAnne, have four children and the youngest, Tommy, is still in high school. Ryan spent his first six years at CF commuting back and forth from Clearwater, where his older children attended high school. Now settled in Ocala, he said he's not looking forward to being uprooted again.</p><p>"This is my home," Ryan said. "I have some roots here and I have a lot of really good friends here now. My son goes to school here and has some big things happening for him. He's going to be a senior in high school. If something were to happen where I couldn't turn it down, I'd probably have to go solo. I'm not looking forward to that. I did that for six years, the commuting back and forth. That was not a fun thing to do. Being away from family wasn't fun. It's not impossible that something could happen, but I really don't see it."</p><p>So even though Ryan could leave and get a free pass for it — and probably a healthy raise, too — his heart may still be in Ocala. And, for the record, he still thinks there's plenty more he can accomplish with the Patriots.</p><p>"We're only the third team from Florida to win a national championship," Ryan said. "It's only happened three times and nobody has repeated. That would be something to do. I don't know if we can do it, but that would be something."</p><p>It would also be something, Ryan said, if he and CF could host the state tournament, which has been held in Marianna since 1996.</p><p>"If we can bring it in here and have a chance to win it here," Ryan said. "Man, that would be just awesome for the community."</p><p>Though Ryan takes great pride in the national championship, there's other things on his plate he's equally proud of. In fact, he said it was actually the state championship that truly wowed him — simply because he had been there so many times before and never won it.</p><p>"Here's the truth," he said, "whatever you work hardest for, you cherish most. I've been to the state tournament 11 times. This year, my 11th year, I finally won it, and that was an incredible feeling. When I went to nationals, it was my first time and we won it. It was an incredible feeling too, but winning the state, in the moment, was more incredible to me than the nationals."</p><p>Both titles earned Ryan plenty of congratulations around Ocala, but it's another things people tell him that feels even more rewarding than the trophies he won.</p><p>"You know what I like to hear people say?," he said. " 'He does things the right way.' I get so many of those messages right now — that it's so good to see someone succeed who does it the right way. That's the thing that I'm the most proud of."</p><p>Contact Andy Marks at andy.marks@starbanner.com.</p>